Major discount store with 178 shops will shut TWO branches in just hours as closing down sale launched

The Sun

19-07-2025

A MAJOR discount store with 178 shops will shut two branches and has launched huge closing down sales.
The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) is preparing to close sites in Bridlington and Caernarfon this Sunday, July 20.
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Both branches will close for the last time tomorrow, giving shoppers just hours to say their goodbyes.
Huge closing down sales have been launched across the stores, with the Bridlington branch offering 70% off all stock.
Meanwhile, the Caernarfon is also offering 70% off all items in store, with employees encouraging shoppers to "grab a bargain while you can".
That means a £2 item will now scan for 60p and a product which cost £80 will now cost £24.
The closures have come as a blow to some locals with one sharing they were "so sick of things closing down".
A fan of the Caernarfon store also said: "The only decent shop we had left such a shame."
While another added: "Sorry to see the store closing staff and manager were very helpful."
And another upset shopper chimed in: "Gutted. Not a great decision."
The budget retailer has been closing stores across the UK as part of a major restructuring.
The brand already closed down eight stores in late June, including branches in Pershore and Perth.
Major card chain with 163 shops launches closing down sales ahead of shutting its doors for good
A site in Cumbria also closed down in July 12.
A further three stores - Middlewich, Heswall and Ashbourne - are also set to close but no date has been given yet.
You can check out the full list here:
Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire - June 26
Perth - June 28
Chester Le Street, County Durham - June 28
Arbroath, Angus - June 28
Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire - June 28
Pershore, Worcestershire - June 28
Normanton, West Yorkshire - June 28
Peterhead, Aberdeenshire - June 28
Shaftesbury, Dorset - June 28
Staveley, Cumbria - July 12
Bridlington - July 20
Caernarfon - July 20
Cupar, Fife - July 27
Kirkham, Lancashire - August
Middlewich, Cheshire - TBC
Blairgowrie, Scotland - TBC
Ashbourne - TBC
Heswall - TBC
What's been happening with The Original Factory Shop?
Private equity firm Modella bought The Original Factory Shop back in February and has since launched a restructuring effort to renegotiate rents at 88 TOFS stores.
Modella is known for picking up struggling retailers, having also recently acquired Hobbycraft and WHSmith 's high street shops.
It is set to rebrand all WHSmith high street stores to TGJones, and has brought in advisers to look at potential options for Hobbycraft.
At the end of April, Modella drew up plans to initiate a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) for TOFS.
Companies often use CVAs to prevent insolvency, which could otherwise result in store closures or the collapse of the entire business.
They allow firms to explore different strategies such as negotiating reduced rent rates with landlords.
TOFS previously told The Press and Journal that a "number of loss-making stores will have to close" as part of the restructuring.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025."
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
"By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."